It is a little-known fact that babies
asleep in their cribs will shift themselves
into alignment with earth’s rotation:
tops of heads face west, tiny feet point east.

Getting older, we become attracted
to either one of the opposite poles:
north and south each beckon our loyalty 
while our weary bodies lie in bed.

But the truly young can appreciate 
the continuum of cyclical motion, 
the rise and fall within each period.

One wonders how this planetary torque
affects the nature of dreams, depending 
           on which way you recline when you slumber.